Fabien Roussel, deputy for the North, secretary of the French Communist Party, was the guest of 8:30 a.m. franceinfo, Monday February 27, 2023. Low emission zones, pension reform, nuclear… He answers questions from Marc Fauvelle and Salhia Brakhlia.
Pension reform: “If the government goes all the way, it can fracture the country”
“If the government chooses to go all the way” of its pension reform project, “he can fracture the country”, warns Fabien Roussel. For him, the executive “takes a serious and significant risk”. “It is extremely serious to damage democracy to this point”he presses.
On the next mobilization day, March 7, the unions are calling for “bring France to a standstill”. “The whole country must get on with it and, if the government does not let go and maintains this showdown, it will have to be extended” the movement, believes the national secretary of the PCF. He is careful not to openly call for a renewable strike. “It’s up to the unions and the employees in the companies to decide”he evacuates.
Low emission zones (ZFE): we must “go back”
“Low Emission Zones (ZFE) are a real social bomb that penalizes the poorest”Fabien Roussel. “Walking” the two-year postponement of the establishment of the ZFE in the metropolis of Lyon, he asks “go back” on their establishment everywhere in France. “We need a moratorium, we have to move them, shift them in time.”
“Today, ten million motorists who have Crit’Air 3, 4 or 5 vehicles will be banned from moving”, assures the deputy of the North. For him, “We must allow the French to buy cheap electric vehicles, with a higher conversion premium, but also blocked prices.”
Bill to accelerate nuclear power: the Communists “rather favorable to this text”
“We are rather in favor of investment in nuclear power, therefore in favor of this text”, says Fabien Roussel about the bill to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power plants. Its examination in committee, at the National Assembly, begins Wednesday, March 1. That said, “we will amend it”he warns.
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“We can immediately reduce 30 to 40% of the French electricity bill, while it is increasing”supports the national secretary of the PCF. “Imagine the message it sends to businesses, traders, industry, but also to households”he enthuses.
He is aware that his pro-nuclear position clashes within the New Popular, Ecological and Social Union (Nupes). “Maybe I will convince them”he launches for his rebellious partners, environmentalists and socialists.
Emmanuel Macron calls for the “effort” of distributors on prices: “Pressure à la Macron, it does not create a lot of foam”
“Pressure à la Macron, we know it: it does not create a lot of foam, as they say”he mocks, in reaction to the remarks of the President of the Republic, Saturday at the Agricultural Show. “Those who have to make an effort on their margins are the distributors”declared the Head of State, when he had just had a long discussion with breeders.
Prohibition of neonicotinoids: we must not “abandon the farmers”
“I am for the ban (…) and I am not for abandoning the farmers”, he explains about neonicotinoids. At the end of January, France gave up authorizing by derogation the treatment of sugar beet seeds using these insecticides implicated in the massive decline of bee colonies. “We must give them the means to be able to produce”he insists.
He regrets that “farmers find themselves in the brown [en difficulté]as they say in the North”. “If I had been President of the Republic, I would have put a lot more resources into research”, he assures. He “wish” In any case “that we don’t import sugar that does not meet the same standards as us, we impose on our farmers”.
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